DONCASTER BOWLS: Denaby land trophy revenge

JUST two days after their disappointment in losing in the Bufton Cup final, Denaby Welfare were back on centre stage in the Brooke Farm Handicap, and this time they were all smiles as they defeated opponents Armthorpe Welfare to pick up their first trophy in 28 years.

They gained revenge for a defeat by the same opponents in the 2003 final.

Denaby only had eight points start on the handicaps as Armthorpe made some tactical selections, but in game one Colin Squires was on a mission to single-handedly treble the lead. Although opponent David Hunt won a couple of ends to only trail 7-2 after seven ends, Squires then rattled off eight ends in a row to reach 17 en-route to a 21-4 victory which extend Denaby’s lead to 25.

Squires was actually beaten off the green by team-mate Mick Taylor in game three. After trailing opponent Dave Henson 5-4, Taylor also won eight ends without reply to lead 16-5 on his way to a 21-5 win which extended Denaby’s lead to 70-31.

Game two saw Chris Jones, who has been enjoying a successful season for Denaby, up against Armthorpe’s star man John Richardson, and it was the Armthorpe player who took a 6-2 lead. Jones pegged a few points back, but two more pairs saw Richardson lead 10-8. Jones then took charge, winning five of the next seven ends to go 17-12 up, before Richardson came back to 17-15.

Jones held his nerve, however, to win 21-16 and extend Denaby’s lead to 44 points

Armthorpe’s Simon Hallas opened up an early 6-1, before Denaby’s Paul Lawrence scored six successive singles to level at 7-7. Hallas then enjoyed another run with the jack, winning six ends for a 15-7 lead, before Lawrence narrowed the gap to 15-11. The Armthorpe player extended his lead to 19-12, giving his side faint hope, but his opponent scored a valuable four points before Hallas got over the line 21-16 making it 107-68 at the halfway stage.

Armthorpe’s Danny Sillito is an experienced campaigner, though, and in game five his bright yellow bowls were consistently nearer than those of opponent Martin Scott. and he ran out a 21-7 winner to reduce the deficit to 25 points.

In game eight Armthorpe’s Daniel Hallas, who pulled away after Bill Walton had pegged him back to 9-6, posting a 21-10 win to cut the deficit to just 14 points.

Denaby’s Vic Greenfield dashed Armthorpe’s hopes again though in game seven as he he beat Mick Meehan 21-15 to clinch victory for his team.

The final game, game six, Joe Walton survived a comeback by Andy Kershaw, who got back to 16-14 at one stage, to win 21-15 and give his side a 25-point victory.